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| This glossary contains: 19186 medical terms |
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Agenesis
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Agenesis Partial or complete failure of an organ or part of the body to form or develop.
RELATED TERMS--------------------------------------
Organ
A structural unit of an animal or plant that serves a specific function.
SIMILAR TERMS--------------------------------------
Agenerase
Agenerase is a prescription or over-the-counter drug which is (or once was) legal in the United States and possibly in other countries. Active ingredient(s): amprenavir .
Agenesis of the corpus callosum
A congenital abnormality (a birth defect) in which there is partial or complete absence (agenesis) of the corpus callosum, the area of the brain which connects the two cerebral hemispheres (the two halves of the brain).
Agenesis of the gallbladder
This is a condition in which the gallbladder fails to develop. This happens in approximately one out of every 1,000 people. Gallbladder agenesis occurs alone in more than two-thirds (70%) of cases. The person with isolated gallbladder agenesis is healthy. No treatment is needed. The prognosis (outlook) is excellent. Gallbladder agenesis occurs in association with additional malformations in the remaining (30%) of cases which fall into two groups: one (9%) with atresia (failure of opening) of the bile ducts, and the other (21%) with normal bile ducts but distant abnormalities such as ventricular septal defect (a hole between the ventricles of the heart), imperforate anus (blind rectum with no anus), malrotation of the gut (failure of the intestines to rotate normally during embryonic development), renal agenesis (absence of a kidney), and syndactyly (fusion of fingers). Agenesis of the gallbladder is most often a sporadic (unpredictable) occurrence with no clear cause. However, there are families in which the condition has occurred in several members suggesting that there are hereditary forms of gallbladder agenesis. Children with gallbladder agenesis plus distant malformations tend to have trisomy 13 or another chromosome abnormality that carries a poor prognosis.
Agenesis, sacral
Failure of formation of all or part of the sacrum (the lowest section of the spine).
Agent Orange
An herbicide and defoliant containing 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T and trace amounts of dioxin. Agent Orange was used as a defoliant in the Vietnam War. There has been concern about Agent Orange as a carcinogen and teratogen (cause cancer and birth defects).
Agent, anti-infective
Something capable of acting against infection, by inhibiting the spread of an infectious agent or by killing the infectious agent outright. Anti-infective is a general term that encompasses antibacterials, antibiotics, antifungals, antiprotozoans and antivirals.
Agent, antibiotic
A drug used to treat bacterial infections.
Agent, antifungal
A drug used to treat fungal infections. Examples of antifungal drugs include miconazole (MONISTAT) and clotrimazole (LOTRIMIN, MYCELEX).
Agent, antihypertensive
As the name suggests, a drug aimed at reducing high blood pressure (hypertension).
Agent, antimicrobial
See: Antimicrobial agent.
Agent, antiprotozoal
" An agent that destroys protozoa or inhibits their growth and ability to reproduce.A few of the protozoa of medical importance include Plasmodium (the cause of malaria); Entamoeba histolytica (the cause of amebiasis, amebic dysentery) and Trichomonas vaginalis (a cause of vaginal infection); and Pneumocystis carinii (a common cause of pneumonia [PCP] in immunodeficient persons).Some antiprotozoal drugs include the antimalarials Aralen (chloroquine), Daraprim (pyrimethamine), Lariam (mefloquine) and Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine); Flagyl (metronidazole) which is active against Entamoeba histolytica and Trichomonas vaginalis; and Mepron (atovaquone) for Pneumocystis carinii."
Agent, antiviral
An agent that kills viruses or suppresses their replication and, hence, inhibits their capability to multiply and reproduce. For example, amantadine (BRAND name: SYMMETREL) is a synthetic (man- made) drug that inhibits the multiplication of the influenza A virus and has therefore been used to prevent the flu and (given within 24- 48 hours of the onset of symptoms) to lessen the severity of the disease, particularly in individuals at high-risk such as those who are immunosuppressed or in a nursing home. Rimantadine (BRAND name: FLUMADINE) is related in structure and anti-influenza A action to amantadine (SYMMETREL) but has fewer side effects. (Neither drug is a substitute for flu shots).
Agent, tocolytic
A medication that can inhibit labor, slow down or halt the contractions of the uterus. Tocolytic agents are widely used today to treat premature labor and permit pregnancy to proceed and so let the fetus gain in size and maturity before being born.
PREVIOUS AND NEXT TERMS--------------------------------------
Adam and Eve principle
In embryological development and subsequently, the principle that nature's primary template is that which differentiates a female, and that something must be added to induce the differentiation of a male.
Adam principle
In fetal life, the differentiation of a male requires that something be added, in particular Müllerian duct Inhibiting Substance (MIS) and testosterone. Partial or complete differentiation otherwise takes place, regardless of chromosomal sex
Adolescent gynecomastia
In about 15 percent of boys at puberty, the growth of glandular tissue and enlargement of the breasts in response to the hormones of puberty. Typically the enlargement is minimal and self-correcting, but in rare cases resembles that of a girl and requires corrective plastic surgery (mastectomy). The etiology, though obscure, is attributed either to an atypical utilization of the low level of estrogen normally produced by the testicles of the male, or to an atypical resistance to the counteracting effect of testosterone.
Adrenocortical hormone
One of the hormones, for example cortisol, secreted not from the internal medulla but from the external cortex of the bilateral adrenocortical glands.
Agalmatophilia
A fictional paraphilia, not yet observed as a syndrome, in which the sexuoerotic stimulus is a nude statue or model of a human being [from Greek, agalma, image + -philia].
Agenesis
Allosex-aviodancy
a socially dictated constraint on personal disclosure to members of the other, but not one's own, sex. It affects both behavior (as in locker-room nudity, for example) and communication, as in sexual joking
Ambiguous genitalia
A birth defect of the sex organs in which, from their embryonically undifferentiated state, they have failed to become fully differentiated as either male or female, but are unfinished. At birth the baby's sex cannot be declared on the basis of visual inspection. Diagnostically, the term is hermaphroditism or intersexuality. Embryologically, it is not possible to develop a complete penis and scrotum together with a complete vagina and vulva.
Ambisexuality
Having characteristics shared by both sexes [from Greek, ambi, both + sex]--in human beings, for example, nipples; pubic hair; birth-defective genitalia that look hermaphroditically ambiguous or intersexed; or mating behavior shared by both sexes.
Ambitypic
as applied to sexual dimorphism of the genitalia, brain, or behavior, differentiation of both female and male anlagen together during an initial phase, after which only one anlage, female or male, continues to develop and the other does not, as in the case of the Müllerian (female) and Wolffian (male) embryonic ducts.
Amelotasis
The condition of being an amelotatist; the condition of having an erotic inclination toward the stump of an extremity missing either congenitally or as a result of amputation
RELATED TERMS--------------------------------------
Organ
A structural unit of an animal or plant that serves a specific function.
SIMILAR TERMS--------------------------------------
Agenerase
Agenerase is a prescription or over-the-counter drug which is (or once was) legal in the United States and possibly in other countries. Active ingredient(s): amprenavir .
Agenesis of the corpus callosum
A congenital abnormality (a birth defect) in which there is partial or complete absence (agenesis) of the corpus callosum, the area of the brain which connects the two cerebral hemispheres (the two halves of the brain).
Agenesis of the gallbladder
This is a condition in which the gallbladder fails to develop. This happens in approximately one out of every 1,000 people. Gallbladder agenesis occurs alone in more than two-thirds (70%) of cases. The person with isolated gallbladder agenesis is healthy. No treatment is needed. The prognosis (outlook) is excellent. Gallbladder agenesis occurs in association with additional malformations in the remaining (30%) of cases which fall into two groups: one (9%) with atresia (failure of opening) of the bile ducts, and the other (21%) with normal bile ducts but distant abnormalities such as ventricular septal defect (a hole between the ventricles of the heart), imperforate anus (blind rectum with no anus), malrotation of the gut (failure of the intestines to rotate normally during embryonic development), renal agenesis (absence of a kidney), and syndactyly (fusion of fingers). Agenesis of the gallbladder is most often a sporadic (unpredictable) occurrence with no clear cause. However, there are families in which the condition has occurred in several members suggesting that there are hereditary forms of gallbladder agenesis. Children with gallbladder agenesis plus distant malformations tend to have trisomy 13 or another chromosome abnormality that carries a poor prognosis.
Agenesis, sacral
Failure of formation of all or part of the sacrum (the lowest section of the spine).
Agent Orange
An herbicide and defoliant containing 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T and trace amounts of dioxin. Agent Orange was used as a defoliant in the Vietnam War. There has been concern about Agent Orange as a carcinogen and teratogen (cause cancer and birth defects).
Agent, anti-infective
Something capable of acting against infection, by inhibiting the spread of an infectious agent or by killing the infectious agent outright. Anti-infective is a general term that encompasses antibacterials, antibiotics, antifungals, antiprotozoans and antivirals.
Agent, antibiotic
A drug used to treat bacterial infections.
Agent, antifungal
A drug used to treat fungal infections. Examples of antifungal drugs include miconazole (MONISTAT) and clotrimazole (LOTRIMIN, MYCELEX).
Agent, antihypertensive
As the name suggests, a drug aimed at reducing high blood pressure (hypertension).
Agent, antimicrobial
See: Antimicrobial agent.
Agent, antiprotozoal
" An agent that destroys protozoa or inhibits their growth and ability to reproduce.A few of the protozoa of medical importance include Plasmodium (the cause of malaria); Entamoeba histolytica (the cause of amebiasis, amebic dysentery) and Trichomonas vaginalis (a cause of vaginal infection); and Pneumocystis carinii (a common cause of pneumonia [PCP] in immunodeficient persons).Some antiprotozoal drugs include the antimalarials Aralen (chloroquine), Daraprim (pyrimethamine), Lariam (mefloquine) and Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine); Flagyl (metronidazole) which is active against Entamoeba histolytica and Trichomonas vaginalis; and Mepron (atovaquone) for Pneumocystis carinii."
Agent, antiviral
An agent that kills viruses or suppresses their replication and, hence, inhibits their capability to multiply and reproduce. For example, amantadine (BRAND name: SYMMETREL) is a synthetic (man- made) drug that inhibits the multiplication of the influenza A virus and has therefore been used to prevent the flu and (given within 24- 48 hours of the onset of symptoms) to lessen the severity of the disease, particularly in individuals at high-risk such as those who are immunosuppressed or in a nursing home. Rimantadine (BRAND name: FLUMADINE) is related in structure and anti-influenza A action to amantadine (SYMMETREL) but has fewer side effects. (Neither drug is a substitute for flu shots).
Agent, tocolytic
A medication that can inhibit labor, slow down or halt the contractions of the uterus. Tocolytic agents are widely used today to treat premature labor and permit pregnancy to proceed and so let the fetus gain in size and maturity before being born.
PREVIOUS AND NEXT TERMS--------------------------------------
Adam and Eve principle
In embryological development and subsequently, the principle that nature's primary template is that which differentiates a female, and that something must be added to induce the differentiation of a male.
Adam principle
In fetal life, the differentiation of a male requires that something be added, in particular Müllerian duct Inhibiting Substance (MIS) and testosterone. Partial or complete differentiation otherwise takes place, regardless of chromosomal sex
Adolescent gynecomastia
In about 15 percent of boys at puberty, the growth of glandular tissue and enlargement of the breasts in response to the hormones of puberty. Typically the enlargement is minimal and self-correcting, but in rare cases resembles that of a girl and requires corrective plastic surgery (mastectomy). The etiology, though obscure, is attributed either to an atypical utilization of the low level of estrogen normally produced by the testicles of the male, or to an atypical resistance to the counteracting effect of testosterone.
Adrenocortical hormone
One of the hormones, for example cortisol, secreted not from the internal medulla but from the external cortex of the bilateral adrenocortical glands.
Agalmatophilia
A fictional paraphilia, not yet observed as a syndrome, in which the sexuoerotic stimulus is a nude statue or model of a human being [from Greek, agalma, image + -philia].
Agenesis
Allosex-aviodancy
a socially dictated constraint on personal disclosure to members of the other, but not one's own, sex. It affects both behavior (as in locker-room nudity, for example) and communication, as in sexual joking
Ambiguous genitalia
A birth defect of the sex organs in which, from their embryonically undifferentiated state, they have failed to become fully differentiated as either male or female, but are unfinished. At birth the baby's sex cannot be declared on the basis of visual inspection. Diagnostically, the term is hermaphroditism or intersexuality. Embryologically, it is not possible to develop a complete penis and scrotum together with a complete vagina and vulva.
Ambisexuality
Having characteristics shared by both sexes [from Greek, ambi, both + sex]--in human beings, for example, nipples; pubic hair; birth-defective genitalia that look hermaphroditically ambiguous or intersexed; or mating behavior shared by both sexes.
Ambitypic
as applied to sexual dimorphism of the genitalia, brain, or behavior, differentiation of both female and male anlagen together during an initial phase, after which only one anlage, female or male, continues to develop and the other does not, as in the case of the Müllerian (female) and Wolffian (male) embryonic ducts.
Amelotasis
The condition of being an amelotatist; the condition of having an erotic inclination toward the stump of an extremity missing either congenitally or as a result of amputation
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This dictionary contains 19186 terms.
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